9th Street to reopen this week as Jayhawk Watershed project moves into next phase

The City of Lawrence is thrilled to announce a major milestone for the Jayhawk Watershed project: the reopening of 9th Street from Mississippi Street through Louisiana Street.

Crews are working toward reopening the street by the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 3, with 9th Street expected to be open by Friday morning at the latest.

Reopening the street does not mean construction is fully completed in the area. Work will continue along the corridor this Fall, but the remaining work can be completed while 9th Street remains open to traffic.

Finishing touches before 9th Street reopens
With major utility work complete, crews are now focused on paving, concrete restoration, traffic signal work, and other improvements needed before reopening the street.

Work scheduled for this week includes:

• Installing sidewalk at the northeast corner of 9th and Mississippi streets.
• Installing pedestrian poles, push buttons and signal heads at Mississippi Street.
• Energizing the Mississippi Street traffic signal.
• Adjusting manhole covers and pouring concrete collars in 9th Street.
• Removing temporary parking east of Louisiana Street on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
• Installing temporary pavement markings Thursday, Sept. 3.

When 9th Street reopens, temporary pavement markings will provide one travel lane in each direction and a center turn lane.

No construction is scheduled on 9th Street Friday, Sept. 4, due to the University of Kansas home football opener. Crews will also be off for the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Next Week: A shorter construction week
Work on 9th Street will be limited the week of Sept. 7. With Labor Day on Monday and the KU-Mizzou Border Showdown on Friday, Sept. 11, crews will have a three-day construction window.

Some minor sidewalk and curb work is expected during that time, but larger construction activities will wait until after the football weekend.

Week of September 14: Asphalt work moves east
The week of September 14, crews will turn their attention to pavement restoration on 9th Street between Louisiana Street and Vermont Street.

Work will begin by milling approximately two inches of existing asphalt from the roadway. Once that surface is removed, crews will be able to better evaluate the pavement below it and determine where deeper repairs are needed.

Some subgrade repairs on 9th Street are anticipated, which could push completion of asphalt restoration in portions of the corridor into the week of Sept. 21.

During this work, 9th Street will remain open, but motorists should expect lane shifts and temporary delays. North-south traffic on streets including Tennessee and Kentucky may experience short delays and medium-term closures of less than an hour at certain times.

Work will continue through the Fall
Once 9th Street asphalt pavement is installed, crews will continue completing final improvements along 9th Street while maintaining traffic flow.

Remaining work this fall includes:

• Final pavement markings and installation of protected bicycle lanes.
• Traffic signal improvements at Tennessee and Kentucky streets.
• Remaining sidewalk and curb repairs.
• Restoration of private parking lots and alley approaches north and south of 9th Street.

Lane shifts and temporary traffic impacts will be used as needed while this work is completed.

Looking ahead
The overall Jayhawk Watershed Project remains scheduled for completion by March 2027.

Additional work still remaining as part of the project includes:

• Permeable brick pavement installation on the 800 block of Louisiana Street.
• Curb replacement on the east side of Tennessee Street between 6th and 8th streets.
• Mill and overlay of Tennessee Street between 6th and 9th streets, to be completed by City crews.
• Final Old West Lawrence traffic circle installation on 8th Street at Indiana, Mississippi and Illinois streets.
• Restoration of Watson Park.

Reopening 9th Street represents an important step forward for the project and for residents, businesses and visitors who have navigated construction throughout the corridor.

The City appreciates the community’s continued patience as crews complete the remaining work and move the Jayhawk Watershed Project toward completion.

Contact: City Communications, citycommunications@lawrenceks.gov

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